Reclining chairs



June 26, 1962 Original Filed Dec. 8, 1955 RECLINING CHAIRS 4Sheets-Sheet 1 .9 78 73 74 6 70 30 7 I I 76 3/ 77 26 I 7/ I nvwzzvrmzifoTrzeys'.

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RECLINING CHAIRS June 26, 1962 Original Filed Dec. 8, 1955 4Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

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RECLINING CHAIRS Original Filed Dec. 8, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

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RECLINING CHAIRS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 June 26, 1962 Original Filed Dec. 8,1955 67 I 8/ .93 K1 I/ f I 77 mmvrozc 1? orweys.

United States Patent 3,041,105 RECLINING CHAHRS Peter Stewart Fletcher,Boynton Beach, Fla, assignor to Anton Lorenz, Boynton Beach, Fla.

Original application Dec. 8, 1%5, Ser. No. 551,876. Divided and thisapplication Jan. 21, 1959, Ser. No.

11 Claims. (Cl. 29785) This invention relates to chairs havingadjustable legsupporting rests or plat-forms, and more particularly to achair which may be tilted or adjusted into a position in which theperson occupying the chair is in different reclining positions, and withwhich the leg rest is adjustable upwardly into a leg-supporting positionautomatically when the chair is adjusted into a reclining position.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 551,876,filed December 8, 1955, which application has now become abandoned.

An object of the invention is to provide a chair with an adjustableleg-supporting rest or platform, wherein the leg-supporting platformwill be automatically elevated into leg-supporting position when thechair is operated into a position to support a person in a more or lessreclining position; with which the elevation of the legsupportingplatform will be effected automatically without any special action onthe part of the person reclining in the chair, and with which theleg-supporting platform or foot rest will be automatically moved into anineffective position automatically when a person reclining in the chairmoves the seat and back into a normal chair position; and which will berelatively simple, dependable, practical and inexpensive.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription of several embodiments of the invention, and the novelfeatures will be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection withthe appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a chair constructed in accordance withthis invention, but having the front side in the view omitted in ordertoshow interior linkages;

FIG. 1a is a schematic diagram illustrating the basic linkage which isemployed to elevate the leg-supporting platform or rest;

FIG. 2 is a similar view but with the chair in reclining position andthe leg rest elevated;

FIG. 3 is a side view similar to FIG. 1, but showing a modification ofthe novel linkage for elevating the legsupporting platform;

FIG. 3a is a schematic diagram illustrating the basic linkage which isemployed in elevating the leg-supporting platform separate from theother linkage employed in the chair;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but with the chair in recliningposition and the leg rest elevated;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but illustrating still anothermodification thereof;

FIG. 5a is a schematic diagram illustrating the basic linkage forelevating the leg-supporting platform separately from the other linkageemployed in the chair;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to- FIG. 5, except that the chair is inreclining position, with the leg-supporting platform elevated.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but illustrating still anotherembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7a is a schematic diagram illustrating the basic linkage employedin this embodiment for elevating the leg support; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, except that the chair is in thereclining position with the leg rest elevated into its effectiveposition.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1, 1a and 2, theimproved chair includes a support 1 having upstanding sides 2 on a base3, the base including members 4 and 5 connecting the upright sidemembers 2. Disposed between the side members and above the base is aback rest 6 which is pivotally supported on pivot pins 7 carried by theupright side members 2 at each side of the back rest. The chair alsoincludes a seat 8 which is pivotally supported at its rear end also onthe pivot ins 7 so as to extend forwardly from the lower part of theback rest 6. A leg-supporting platform or rest 9 is disposed between theupright members 2 below the forward erid of the seat 8 while the chairis in its normal or sitting position, with the back rest upright.

The leg-supporting rest or platform 9 is adjustable on the support 1 inthe following manner: there are two pairs of links which are separatelyconnected to the leg support 9 and to the support 1. One pair of linksincludes links 10 and 11, the link It being pivoted at 12 to the support1 and the other link 11 being pivoted at 13 to the leg platform orsupport 9. These two links 10* and 1-1 are pivotally connected togetherat 14. The other pair of links includes a link 15 which is pivoted at 16 to the support '1 and a link 17 which is pivotally connected at 18 tothe leg support or platform 9. The links 15 and 17 are always pivotallyconnected together by pin 19. In this embodiment of the invention thelink 10 of the first pair of links is provided with an extension 20beyond the pivot 24, and this extension at its free end, is pivoted at21 to the link 17 at a point on link 17 between the pivotal connectionto the leg-supporting platform and the pivot 19 between the links ofthat pair. The two pairs of links are provided at each side of the seat8 and the connections 13 and 18 to the leg-supporting platform arearranged approximately directly above one another, as shown in FIGS. 1and 1a when the legsupporting platform is in its inactive position belowthe front end of the seat 8. The pivots 12 and 16 are carried by theadjacent side upright 2.

To operate this basic linkage, the back rest 6 extends downwardly belowits pivotal support 7 and is pivoted at 22 to one end of a connectinglink 23, the other end of the link 23 being pivotally connected at 24 toa guiding link 25 which is generally upright and pivoted at its upperend by a pin 26 to the adjacent upright side member 2 of the support 1.The link 23 is connected to this guiding link 25 intermediate of theends of the latter and the lower end of the link 25 is pivoted at 27 toone end of an actuating link 28, the other end of which is pivoted bypin 29 to one of the links of the pairs of links, such as to anintermediate point on the link 15. The seat 8 is provided on its lowerface with a lug 30 which depends from the seat and is pivoted at 31 toone end of a link 32, the other end of which is pivotally connected at33 to the guiding link 25 between the connection of that link to thelink 23 and the pivot 26 on the upright support 2. This link 32 connectsthe seat 8 well forwardly from the pivot 7 of the seat, and through itsconnection to the guiding link 25 serves to support the forward part ofthe seat 8 from descent beyond the normal position shown in FIG. 1

When the chair is intended to be used in the manner of an ordinarychair, the parts are in the position shown in FIG. 1. If now one desiresto recline in the chair, one may tilt backwardly against the back rest6, which rocks the back rest from the position shown in FIG. 1 to theposition shown in P16. 2, and during this rocking movement of the backrest 6 the lower end of the back rest acts through the link 23 to rockthe guiding link 25 clockwise in FIGS. 1 and 2, which performs twofunctions, one of which is to push endwise on the link 32 which elevatesthe forward end of the seat 8 by rocking it on its pivot 7 so as to berearwardly and downwardly inclined at its rear edge, and the other ofwhich is to push endwise on the actuating link 28.

Since the actuating link is connected to the link 15 of one of the pairsof links that supports the leg-supporting platform 9, this endwise pushon the link 28 which is imparted by the link 25 will serve to rock thelinks 15 and 17 to the left in FIG. 1. Since the pairs of links areconnected together by extensions 20, the action of both pairs of linksat each side will shift the rest '9 upwardly and forwardly into aninclined position in front of the forward end of the seat 8. Thus, aperson reclining in the chair while in this position will have thelegsupporting platform elevated into a position to support the legs in acomfortable, reclining position. When one desires to return to anupright position where the chair is used in a normal chair position, onemerely rocks his body forwardly in the chair which releases the pressureon the back rest 6 and the weight of ones body on the seat returns themechanism to sitting position at the same time retracting theleg-supporting platform 9 back into the inactive position shown in FIG.1.

Referring next to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 3, 3aand 4, the back rest 6 is pivoted at 7 to the support 1, as in FIGS. 1and 2, and the seat 8 is pivoted on the same pivot 7. The back rest 6descends below its pivot 7, as in FIGS. 1 and 2, and is similarlyconnected at its lower end by pivot 22 to the connecting link 23. Theleg-supporting platform or rest 9 is disposed below the front edge ofthe seat 8, and it is also supported on two pairs of links at each sidethereof, which pairs of links are generally similar to those illustratedin FIGS. 1 and 2. One of these links is link 102, which is pivoted atone end by pivot 103 to the support 1, and the other link 34 of thatpair is pivoted by pin 35 to the other end of the link 102. This link 34is also pivoted at 36 to the leg support 8. The other pair of links isformed of links 37 and 38 which are pivoted together by pin 39. Link 37is pivotally connected by pin 40 to the leg support 9 in a positionabove the pin 36, and the link 38 is pivotally connected by pin 41 tothe support 1. The link 34 of one pair of links has an extension 42beyond the pivot 35 that connects the links of that pair together, andthis extension 42 is pivotally connected at 43 to an extension 44 of thelink 38.

The connecting link 23 is pivotally connected by pin 45 to the lever 38intermediate of its pivot pins 41 and 39, so that when the back rest 6is tilted rearwardly, the connecting link 23 will be moved endwise androck the lever 38 of the second pair of links in a direction to push theleg rest 9 forwardly. A control link 46 is pivoted at 47 to a lug 48depending from the lower face of the seat 8, and at its other end thelink 46 is pivoted at 49 to the link 38. Thus, at the same time that theguiding link 23 rocks the lever 38 forwardly to elevate the leg rest 9and tilt it into an inclined position, the lever 38 of the second pairof links, acting through link 46, will elevate the seat at its forwardend by rocking it on the pivot '7. At the same time that the leg rest ismoved forwardly by the rocking of link 38, the link 34 will be pushedforwardly at a faster rate than the pivot 40 because of the fact thatthe pivot 43 between the link 38 and the first pair of links will movethe lower pivot 36 on rest 9 more rapidly than the pivot 40. This isbecause the pivot pin 43 which is on an extension of the link 34 isfarther from the rocking pivot 41 than the pivot 39, which is connectedthrough the link 37 to the upper pivot 40 on the leg rest. Thus, inFIGS. 3, 3a and 4, whenever the back rest is tilted backwardly, the legrest 9 will be moved upwardly and forwardly into the position shown inFIG. 4.

Considering next the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5, a and 6 thearrangement is generally the same as that of FIGS. 1 to 4. In thisembodiment however, the back rest 6 and the seat '8 are rigidlyconnected together as one unit, so that when the back rest 6 is tiltedrearwardly, the rearward edge of the seat 8 will be tilted downwardly.For this purpose the combined seat and back rest have a depending lug 50which is pivotally connected by pin 51 to one end of an arcuate lever 52which is, in turn, pivotally mounted on the support 1 by a pin or rod53. The lever 52 extends downwardly and rearwardly from this connectionto the combined seat and back rest, and at its free end is pivotallyconnected by pin 54 to one end of a connecting link 55.

The leg rest or support 9 is disposed below the front end of the seat 8,as in FIGS. 1 to 4, and it is also mounted by two pairs of links at eachside of the rest 9. One pair of links which support the leg rest 9includes a link 56 which is pivoted by pin 57 to the leg rest 9. Theother link 58 of that pair is pivotally connected at one end by pin 59to the support 1, and the other end of link 58 is pivotally connected byhinge 60 to the link 56. The other pair of links at each side of theseat includes a link 61 which is pivotally connected at one end by thepin 62 to the leg rest 9 below the pivot 57. The other link 63 of thatpair is pivotally connected at one end by the pin 64 to the support 1,and at its other end is connected by the pin 65 to the other end of thelink 61. The link 56 of the one pair has an extension 66 beyond itshinge connection 60, and at its free end is connected by a pivot pin 67to the link 63 between its ends.

The forward portion of the seat 8 is provided with a depending lug 68which is connected by pivot pin 69 to one end of the control link 70,the other end of which is pivotally connected by pin 71 to a lug 72 onthe support 1. The end of the connecting link 55 that is opposite fromits connection to pin 54 is pivotally connected at '73 to the link 58 ofthe first pair of links at a point intermediate the ends of that link.With this arrangement, whenever the combined back rest 6 and seat 8 ismoved rearwardly, it will rock the lever 52 clockwise in FIGS. 5 and 6and thus push the connecting link 55 endwise, to the left in FIGS. 5 and6. When the connecting link 55 is pushed endwise, it acts through itspivot pin 73 on the lever 58 of the first pair to move the link 56endwise, which pushes the upper edge of the leg rest 9 upwardly andforwardly.

At the same time, the link 61, which is connected to the lower pivot onthe leg rest 9, is also pushed forwardly and upwardly in an endwisedirection, because of the fact that the link 63 of the second pair oflinks is rocked in a counterclockwise direction in FIGS. 5 and 6, butsince the connection from the link 61 to the link 63, which is at thepivot 65, is farther from the rocking axis 64 than is the extension 66of the link 56, the lower part of the leg rest 9 will be movedproportionally faster than the pivot pin 57, and thus the leg rest 9will not only be moved upwardly and forwardly, but will be rocked intoan inclined position, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. When the combined seatand back rest are rocked or moved forwardly, a reverse action in thelinkage takes place, and for the same reasons and by the samemechanisms, the leg rest 9 is moved downwardly and rearwardly into itsnormal, upright position beneath the front edge of the seat 8.

Considering next the embodiment or modification shown in FIGS. 7, 7a and8, the seat 8 and the back rest 6 are made in one unit, as explained inFIGS. 5 and 6. This unit of seat and back rest is disposed over thesupport 1 between the side members 2. The seat and back rest unit isprovided below the back rest portion with a depending lug 74 which ispivoted by pin 75 to one end of a lever 76, which is pivoted on pin 77carried by the side members 2. The lower end of this lever 76 isconnected by a pin 73 to one end of a connecting link 79. Theleg-supporting rest or platform 9 is normally disposed in an uprightposition beneath the forward edge of the seat 8, and it is supported ateach side by two pairs of links which are shown schematically in FIG.7a- One pair of links at each side includes links 80 and 81 which arehinged together at 82. The link 81 is also pivoted at one end by pin 83to the support 1, and the other link 80 is pivotally connected by pin 84to the leg rest 9. The other pair of links at each side includes a link85 and a link 86 which are pivotally connected together by a hinge orpin 87. The link 85 is also pivotally connected by pin 88 to the legrest 9 below the pin 84. The link 86 is pivotally connected by pin 89'to the support 1. The link 85 is extended beyond the hinge 87 to form anextension 98, and the link 81 is also extended beyond its hinge 82 toform an extension 91. The forward part of the seat 8 is provided with adepending lug 94, which is pivotally connected by pin 95 to one end of alink 96, the other end of which is pivoted at 97 to a lug 98 on thesupport 1.

The connecting link 79 is pivotally connected by pin 93 to the link 86intermediate of its ends. When one desires to recline in this chair, thecombined seat and back rest is pushed rearwardly into the position shownin FIG. 8, which causes a rocking of the lever 76 on its pivot pin 77 tolower the back rest 6 and push the connecting link 79 endwise to theleft in FIGS. 7 and 8. This, in turn, rocks the link 86 counterclockwisein FIGS. 7 and 8, into the position shown in FIG. 8, and since this link86 is hinged to the link 85, it causes the link 85 to move endwise androck the leg rest 9 forwardly and upwardly into the position shown inFIG. 8. In view of the pivotally connected extensions 90 and 91, thisendwise movement of the link 85 will cause a similar endwise movement ofthe link 80 to also move the leg rest from the normal position of FIG. 7into the elevated and inclined position of FIG. 8. Since the pivot pin82 is nearer the rocking axis of pin 83 than the pin 92 for any angularmovement of the lever 81 which is caused by the extension 98, the link88 will not be moved endwise as much as the link 85 with this extension90, and thus the link 85 will, by its greater linear travel, tilt theleg rest 9 into an inclined position, as shown in FIG. 8.

At the same time that the leg rest is elevated to the position shown inFIG. 8, the seat 8 in moving rearwardly with the back rest will rock thelink 96 clockwise in FIGS. 7 and 8, which slightly lowers the forwardend of the seat 8 and continues to support the forward part of the seat8. Since the link 96 is nearly vertical when the seat and back rest arein their normal chair position for sitting upright, any movement of thelink 96 clockwise in FIGS. 7 and 8 will slightly lower the forward partof the seat 8, but .as will be observed by a com parison of FIGS. 7 and8, the pivot hinge 75 will move downwardly to a much greater distancethan the pivot in 95, so that the rear of the seat 8 as well as the backrest will be lowered more than the forward end of the seat 8, which wiilgive the seat and back rest the desired reclining position. To move theseat and back rest back into the normal chair position, one merely pullsthe seat and back rest forwardly into the FIG. 7 position.

It will he noted that the pivot pin 75 has moved past a vertical planethrough the pivot 77 as the chair moved into its upright sittingposition and, therefore, the weight of a person sitting in the chairwill urge the lever 76 in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 7, butthis farther movement counterclockwise is limited by the engagement ofthe link 86 with a bar 99 on the base of the support 1. Thus, the seatand back rest remain in a stable position while one is sitting in thechair. It will be noted that when the seat and back rest are moved intotheir reclining positions, the pivot pin 75 will have passed through avertical plane containing the axis of the pivot pin 77, so that theweight of a person in the chair will urge the lever 76 in a clockwisedirection.

Stops and friction devices, known in the art and not shown, are used tolimit the end positions of the seat and back rest and hold the linkagein any desired position.

It will be understood that various changes in the details andarrangements of parts which have been herein described and illustratedin order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by thoseskilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention asexpressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An adjustable chair comprising a support, a back rest and a seatmounted on said support to tilt between their sitting and tiltedpositions, a leg rest having a supporting face disposed adjacent andbelow the front of the seat when said seat is in its sitting positionand with said supporting face facing forwardly, one guide link at eachside of said seat pivoted at one end to said support, two links at eachside of said seat piovted to the free end of said one guide link at thatsame side of the seat at diiferent distances from said one end of saidone link, that one of said two links which is pivoted nearest to thepivoted end of said one guide link being pivoted at its other end tosaid leg rest near its upper edge, and the other of said two links beingpivoted to the leg rest at a point below and spaced from the pivotalconnection to the leg rest of the other of said two links, a furtherguide link pivoted at one of its ends to said support and at its otherend to an intermediate part of one of said wo links, and an actuatingconnection between one of said back rest and said seat and one of saidlinks which is pivoted to said support, operating when said back restand seat are moved into their said tilted positions, said links toadvance said leg rest upwardly and forwardly to a position forwardly ofand near the forward edge of said seat, with its supporting faceuppermost, said further link being disposed forwardly of said one link.

2. An adjustable chair comprising a support, a back rest and a seatmounted on said support to tilt between their sitting and tiltedpositions, a leg rest having a supporting face disposed adjacent andbelow the front of the seat 'leg rest near its upper edge, and the otherof said two links being pivoted to the leg rest at a point below andspaced from the pivotal connection to the leg rest of the other of saidtwo links, a further guide link pivoted at one of its ends to saidsupport and at its other end to an intermediate part of one of said twolinks, and an actuating connection between one of said back rest andsaid seat and one of said links which is pivoted to said support,operating, when said back rest and seat are moved into their said tiltedpositions, said links to advance said leg rest upwardly and forwardly toa position forwardly of and near the forward edge of said seat, with itssupporting face uppermost, said two links extending rearwardly nearlyhorizontally when the leg rest is in its retracted position below theseat.

3. An adjustable chair comprising a support, a back rest and a seatmounted on said support to tilt between their sitting and tiltedpositions, a leg rest having a supporting face disposed adjacent andbelow the front of the seat when said seat is in its sitting positionand with said supporting face facing forwardly, one guide link at eachside of said seat pivoted at one end to said support, two links at eachside of said seat pivoted to the free end of said one guide link at thatsame side of the seat at different distances from said one end of saidone link, that one of said two links which is pivoted nearest to thepivoted end of said one guide link being pivoted at its other end tosaid leg rest near its upper edge, and the other of said two links beingpivoted to the leg rest at a point below and spaced from the pivotalconnection to the leg rest of the other of said two links, a furtherguide link pivoted at one of its ends to said support and at its otherend to an 7 intermediate part of one of said two links, and an actuatingconnection between one of said back rest and said seat and one of saidlinks which is pivoted to said support, operating when said back restand seat are moved into their said tilted positions, said links toadvance said leg rest upwardly and forwardly to a position forwardly ofand near the forward edge of said seat, with its supporting faceuppermost, said two links crossing each other and said one link that ispivoted to said support extending somewhat rearwardly from its pivotalconnections to said support while said leg rest is retracted beneathsaid seat.

4. An adjustable chair comprising a support, a back rest and a seatmounted on said support to tilt between their sitting and tiltedpositions, a leg rest having a supporting face disposed adjacent andbelow the front of the seat when said seat is in its sitting positionand with said supporting face facing forwardly, one guide link at eachside of said seat pivoted at one end to said support, two links at eachside of said seat pivoted to the free end of said one guide link at thatsame side of the seat at different distances from said one end of saidone link, that one of said two links which is pivoted nearest to thepivoted end of said one guide link being pivoted at its other end tosaid leg rest near its upper edge, and the other of said two links beingpivoted to the leg rest at a point below and spaced from the pivotalconnecting to the leg rest of the other of said two links, a furtherguide link pivoted at one of its ends to said support and at its otherend to an intermediate part of one of said two links, and an actuatingconnection between one of said back rest and said seat and one of saidlinks which is pivoted to said support, operating when said back restand seat are moved into their said tilted positions, said links toadvance said leg rest upwardly and forwardly to a position forwardly ofand near the forward edge of said seat, with its supporting faceuppermost, said links that are pivoted to said support both extendingrearwardly from vertical positions while said leg rest is retractedbeneath said seat.

5. An adjustable chair comprising a support, a back rest and a seatmounted on said support to tilt between their sitting and tiltedpositions, a leg rest having a supporting face disposed adjacent andbelow the front of the seat when said seat is in its sitting positionand with said supporting face facing forwardly, one guide link at eachside of said seat pivoted at one end to said support, two links at eachside of said seat pivoted to the free end of said one guide link at thatsame side of the seat at different distances from said one end of saidone link, that one of said two links which is pivoted nearest to thepivoted end of said one guide link being pivoted at its other end tosaid ends to said support and at its other end to an intermediate 7 partof one of said two links, and an actuating connection between one ofsaid back rest and said seat and one of said links which is pivoted tosaid support, operating when said back rest and seat are moved intotheir said tilted positions, said links to advance said leg restupwardly and forwardly to a position forwardly of and near the forwardedge of said seat, with its supporting face uppermost, said further linkbeing disposed forwardly of said one link and both of said links thatare pivoted to said support extending rearwardly from vertical positionswhile said leg rest is retracted beneath said seat.

6. An adjustable chair comprising a support, a back rest and a seatmounted on said support to tilt between their sitting and tiltedpositions, a leg rest having a supporting face disposed adjacent andbelow the front of the seat when said seat is in its sitting positionand with said supporting face facing forwardly, one guide link at eachside of said seat pivoted at one end to said support, two links at eachside of said seat pivoted to the free end of said one guide link at thatsame side of the seat at different distances from said one end of saidone link, that one of said two links which is pivoted nearest to thepivoted end of said one guide link being pivoted at its other end tosaid leg rest near its upper edge, and the other of said two links beingpivoted to the leg rest at a point below and spaced from the pivotalconnection to the leg rest of the other of said two links, a furtherguide link pivoted at one of its ends to said support and at its otherend to an intermediate part of one of said two links, and an actuatingconnection between one of said back rest and said seat and one of saidlinks which is pivoted to said support, operating when said back restand seat are moved into their said tilted positions, said links toadvance said leg rest upwardly and forwardly to a position forwardly ofand near the forward edge of said seat, with its supporting faceuppermost, said two links extending nearly horizontally while the legrest is retracted below said seat.

7. An adjustable chair comprising a support, a back rest and a seatmounted on said support to tilt between their sitting and tiltedpositions, a leg rest having a supporting face disposed adjacent andbelow the front of the seat when said seat is in its sitting positionand with said supporting face facing forwardly, one guide link at eachside of said seat pivoted at one end to said support, two links at eachside of said seat pivoted to the free end of said one guide link at thatsame side of the seat at different distances from said one end of saidone link, that one of said two links which is pivoted nearest to thepivoted end of said one guide link being pivoted at its other end tosaid leg rest near its upper edge, and the other of said two links beingpivoted to the leg rest at a point below and spaced from the pivotalconnection to the leg rest of the other of said two links, a furtherguide link pivoted at one of its ends to said support and at its otherend to an intermediate part of one of said two links, and an actuatingconnection between one of said back rest and said seat and one of saidlinks which is pivoted to said support, operating when said back restand seat are moved into their said tilted positions, said links toadvance said leg rest upwardly and forwardly to a position forwardly ofand near the forward edge of said seat, with its supporting faceuppermost, said one guide link that being pivoted to the support ispivoted at its lower end to said support and extending from its pivot tothe support somewhat rearwardly therefrom while said leg rest isretracted to its position beneath said seat, and swinging in an upwardand forward are when the leg rest is advanced and elevated to a positionin front of said seat.

8. An adjustable chair comprising a support, a back rest and a seatmounted on said support to tilt between upright and reclining positions,a leg rest disposed adjacent and below the front of said seat, two pairsof links at each side of said seat, the links of each pair being hingedtogether, one link of each pair being pivotally connected to the legrest and the other link of each pair being pivotally connected directlyto said support, said two pairs of links at each side of the seat beingoperatively interconnected through extensions of a link of each pairbeyond its hinge to the other link of that pair, which extensions arepivotally connected together, and means operable automatically when theback rest is tilted and connected to said linkage for causing anoperation of it to advance and elevate said leg rest when the back restis moved into reclining position, and retracting it when the back restreturns to its upright position.

9. An adjustable chair comprising a support, a back rest and a seatmounted on said support to tilt between a sitting position and a tiltedposition in which the back rest moves rearwardly at its upper end andthe front part of the seat is elevated relatively to its rear part, aleg rest disposed in an upright position beneath the front of the seatwhen the seat is in its sitting position, said chair having adjacenteach side of said seat, two links pivoted to the leg rest by pivots thatare at different levels when the leg rest is upright beneath the seat,and extending rearwardly from the leg rest nearly horizontally, butcrossing one another, one guide link pivoted at one end to said supportand extending in a rearward direction therefrom, the free end of saidguide link being pivoted to both of said two links at their rear endsand at different radial distances from the end of said guide link thatis pivoted to said support, another guide link pivoted at one end tosaid support and at its other end to one of said two links at a part ofthe latter intermediate of its ends, and means connecting one of saidseat and back rest with one of said links and operating the links toadvance and elevate said leg rest to a position in front of said seatwhen the back rest and seat are moved into their tilted positions.

10. The chair as set forth in claim 9', wherein said another guide linkalso extends somewhat rearwardly from its pivotal connection to saidsupport while said leg rest is retracted beneath said seat.

11. An adjustable chair comprising a support member, a seat member andback rest, said seat member and said back rest mounted on said supportmember to tilt between 20 being operatively connected to said leg restand the other link of each pair being pivotally connected to one of saidmembers, the pivotal connection of one of said other links to a memberbeing at the lower end of that said other link, the pairs of links ateach side of said seat being operatively interconnected by a pivotalconnection between one link of one pair and one link of the other pairto form two quadric linkages, one of said quadric linkages having saidone of said members as one link thereof, and at least two opposite linksin one of said quadric linkages crossing each other, and means connectedto said linkage operable automatically when the back rest is tilted forcausing an operation of said linkage to advance and elevate said legrest when said back rest is moved into said tilted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,727,561 Bank et al. Dec. 20, 1955 2,895,538 Lorenz July 21, 1959FOREIGN PATENTS 72,116 Norway May 19, 1947 737,396 Great Britain Sept.28, 1959

